120 lawsuits from one car crash is too much: After 24 years, Ontario court restricts man from legal proceedings

It started with a car crash in 1988 that sparked a court case and, last month, three judges suggested it was time to end; in between, Ural Direk launched more than 120 lawsuits, filed thousands of pages of documents, filled a trailer full of evidence, sought secret hearings to unveil dark campaigns against him, and linked the outcome of his cases to a Jewish conspiracy.

This is the bizarre legacy of Mr. Direk’s obsessive campaign to sate his ever-widening feeling of injustice over his car crash, a case that he actually won.

We respect the rights of members of the public to bring proceedings and to be heard, but where members of the public do not respect the procedures and protections the court offers, the rights of others are adversely affected

After dismissing two more of Mr. Direk’s court applications, the panel of three Ontario Superior Court judges suggested it might be best if he was declared a “vexatious litigant.” The rare move would restrict him from engaging in legal proceedings.

“The resources of the court are limited,” Ontario Superior Court Justices Joan Lax, P.B. Hambly and Thomas Lederer wrote in their decision.

“We respect the rights of members of the public to bring proceedings and to be heard, but where members of the public do not respect the procedures and protections the court offers, the rights of others are adversely affected.”

Trouble started on Aug. 23, 1988, when Mr. Direk was in a car accident that was not his fault. At the time, he was a carpet installer living with his family in Toronto. He sought damages for numerous injuries that keep him from working.

The accident led to a lawsuit and the initial case — mired by changing lawyers, debate over the use of a Turkish interpreter, the seating plan during trial, the admission of documents and use of notes during testimony — now stands as a stark harbinger.

Mr. Direk won that case and a jury awarded him $34,984 in damages in 1995. He was vastly unsatisfied with the amount, however, and pressed for reconsideration. His appeal was dismissed in 1998.

It was a verdict below his legal costs.

“I believe I won the case and they didn’t pay me my money,” he said in an interview. The various lawyers heaped bill after bill on him, he said. He was left with nothing to help as an injured father of three young children. He was outraged.

His perception of the judicial system was cemented as a “criminal organization” that corruptly works against the poor and marginalized, he said.

His low settlement was not by accident, he insists, claiming lawyers used false medical reports and fake trial transcripts against him. His lawyers were in collusion with the insurance company, the judge and jury.

“The jury was fraudulently and conspiratorially arranged,” he said.

“What would you do? You appeal, you appeal, you appeal, you appeal — 120 matters.”

The applicants filed materials consisting of thousands of pages, almost all irrelevant and incomprehensible

In 2000, representing himself, he sued four law firms who worked on his case and his subsequent appeal. Since then, Mr. Direk has also sued the Toronto police, Peel police, the Information and Privacy Commission of Ontario, the Attorney General of Ontario and Ministry of Community and Social Services; appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada; tried to file charges with the International Criminal Court; and filed complaints with the Law Society of Upper Canada.

This latest decision reveals the difficulty in dealing with Mr. Direk.

“The applicants filed materials consisting of thousands of pages, almost all irrelevant and incomprehensible,” the judges wrote.

Mr. Direk maintains an unorthodox court style. Describing himself as a “self-represented tortured litigant” in a Sept. 22 appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, he begins his legal filing with: “Attn: World Jewish Community.”

I cannot give up. I will never give up and will fight for my right — to the end

Mr. Direk told the National Post his claims are “100% solidly based black-and-white evidences” that involve a “trailer full” of documents.

In September, the Supreme Court declined to hear Mr. Direk’s appeal of his suit against his lawyers, after asking him to stop sending additional correspondence and materials.

Despite the setbacks, Mr. Direk vows to fight on.

“I cannot give up. I will never give up and will fight for my right — to the end.”

Brendan Crawley, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, could not say if a vexatious litigant application will be made against Mr. Direk.

“The Ministry of the Attorney General is reviewing the Divisional Court decision. Any further comment at this time about what options may be available to the Attorney General would not be appropriate,” he said.